Last year unionlearn signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Wolverhampton which ensures a discount for trade unionists looking to study there.

Ken Chilton recently decided on a career change and felt that the University of Wolverhampton was the place to study – the course has changed his life and Ken told his story to the University.

Ken left school at an early age with no qualifications and at 21 was married “to my amazing wife Victoria and for a short period everything was great”. He landed a job as a retail manager for a few years but was made redundant. 

Ken said that they decided to use his redundancy pay towards gaining an HGV driving qualification and he managed to get a job working at the council as a waste disposal driver. 

The pay wasn’t the best but it was a job, a way to keep a roof over my family’s head. My wife worked part-time as a call centre advisor for a bank and for years had wanted to train to become a primary school teacher; being the positive and enthusiastic person she is, she went to college to do her A-levels and was accepted into university to do her teaching degree. 

I was so proud of her, and in a way jealous as I was stuck doing a job I hated with no qualifications to better myself. My wife and I had a long chat about our future and she encouraged me to go back to college and get my GCSEs and A-levels."

His wife had become a full-time student at the University of Wolverhampton, and Ken enrolled into night college, while still working in the day. At times they felt that they never saw each other, but they made an agreement that when Vicky finished university and got a job as a teacher, Ken would try and get into university. 

The thought of me at university – no chance!"

Nevertheless Ken worked hard and applied anyway, getting the grades He needed to apply to do Adult Nursing. Ken said

My mum was a nurse and I had always felt that I too wanted to help those in need. One of my fondest childhood memories was walking around with the sweet lady at the old Royal Hospital, selling sweets to the patients. 

At first, I was embarrassed to say I wanted to be a nurse due to being a man, but life experience has taught me not to be offended by those with small minds. I was also nervous I wouldn’t be accepted, but weeks went by and I received an email from the University of Wolverhampton, offering me an interview for the Adult Nursing degree. 

I was ecstatic – the last time I was this excited was the day I found out we were having twins."

After an interview and a nervous wait Ken received the email telling him he had been accepted. Though this was just the beginning.

While I was waiting to start university, I was in an accident at work which gave me a bulging disc, and the doctor told me I needed surgery due to the disc being in danger of severing my nerves. The date for the surgery was two days before my first day at university, but I wasn’t going to let this bring me down. 

I had my surgery on Monday, got discharged on Tuesday and I went to the University on Wednesday. My first day wasn’t easy, but with the help from fellow students and support from my family, I was there and determined to succeed."

Ken loved his time at Wolverhampton.

My first year of university went so fast, I felt like a sponge absorbing everything. I’d only ever cared for family, so working within a hospital was a big learning curve. When you become part of the NHS workforce, you become part of a huge family where the help and support from your mentors, tutors and work colleagues is amazing. 

My second year came so fast, it felt like I had blinked and it was here. The toughest part of the second year was towards the end, with the four main assignments due in around the same time. This was an even bigger obstacle, as my mother had suffered a myocardial infarction and she was a big support for me and my wife taking care of my twins whilst we were at work and university.

I contacted my personal tutor Sarah Gaytten and she was a godsend, giving me the support I needed to get through my assignments and placement and to graduate from my second year of university."

Ken and family saved for a summer break in Lanzarote and an incident brought home the benefit of his training.

Whilst on holiday, an unfortunate accident had occurred: a little girl had drowned in the pool close to where I was sitting. I heard a scream for help and ran straight over. As I pulled the girl from the pool, I was shocked to see that the girl was not breathing, her lips and face were as blue as the water and I couldn’t feel a pulse. 

A man in the pool asked if she was ok and I said I’m not sure, she is not breathing and at that point I called out for help and initiated CPR. After two cycles of CPR, the little girl screamed out, I felt a sigh of relief, she was breathing once again. At this point, the man in the pool thanked me, as it turned out he was the little girl’s dad. I was a nervous wreck afterwards, waiting for the little girl to return from the hospital so I would know she was okay.

Two days later, on the evening a family approached me, it was the girl with her parents – they gave me the biggest hug and thanked me. I was filled with emotion and couldn’t stop crying. My family and I still keep in contact with the family, they sent me a picture of her on her first day at secondary school, saying this wouldn’t have been possible without me. 

Without the training and the support I had received from the University, it may have been a different story. I did what any other father would have done and helped a child in need."

Ken said he would encourage anyone to look at returning to University and studying. 

I am proud to say, I am now in my third year and loving my life and potential future. I am proof that you are never too old or too restricted to achieve something that you really want in life, and in ten months’ time, I will be determined to wear those blues with pride."

You can find out more about studying Nursing at the University of Wolverhampton on their website - www.wlv.ac.uk/nursing